Back Yard Pig Roast

I figured this might be of interest to some of you, and I didn’t find much when I was searching here prior, so a little update on my back yard pig roast project that culminated with our party last weekend.
Briefly, my daughter graduated high school last weekend (yay us!) and we did a combined party with her three closest friends and all the families. My buddy and I decided a couple months back we would use the occasion to build a pit in my back yard and roast a pig. It was an A+ move and I highly suggest it if you’ve ever though of doing so.

We relied on Meathead for the pit building, cookery, saucing, etc. It was as good a source as any and based on the results, I have no need to look elsewhere.

We sourced the 55lb pig from Patton’s Meat Market (ATLers- you must visit if you have not been), picked her up Friday afternoon, iced overnight and rubbed down and injected around 8 Sat morning.

We started the fire (some coal to start, then mostly post oak) around 8am and put the pig on at 9. We maintained 250 with very good smoke for 7 hours and which point we were at 165 in shoulders. We killed the heat and let the pig rest with lid ajar til we pulled around 4.

Here’s some pictures and additional info. I was too busy to take a lot of pics, so these are just highlights:

Here’s a pic of the build about a month ago. We cut rebar for the cross supports and used non-galvanized cement mesh wire for the grill.

We had 75ish people for the party and the 55lb hog was plenty of food, though I also did a 15lb brisket on the BGE.
This is checking on him at about the 4 hour mark prior to the flip.

And then flipped at the 5 or so hour mark when hams were at 160ish. Sauced with meatheads’ vinegar-based sauce cut with some Fox Bros Bbq sauce.

Finished

We were really happy with the end results. Was the total hit of the party, and I’m told the best food of all the neighborhood graduation parties

Very cool! Thanks for sharing- Building the above ground pit with cinder blocks is a good thought- just need to have a use or place to store them after I guess

Pig pen?

Thanks, Scott.
I didn’t mention above, but we did a practice run on the pit two weeks ago with a 25 lb pig just to be ready for the party. The first cook was equally successful.
I offer that to say that after two successful runs, I have convinced my wife that the pit is now a permanent fixture. We have the yard for it, but I’m not sure my convincing will stick.
Already planning a large oyster roast for July 4th!

How did you flip the pig? A friend did something similar years ago, but we sandwiched the pig between two wire mesh layers tied together, with handles that stuck out to lift and turn.

Chuck-We planned to go all-out and build a “stretcher,” but we never got that far. We very careful flipped it with two guys using gloves and tongs. We planned to flip it twice, but she was getting really tender in the back end and beginning to separate, so one delicate flip was all we managed. We slid her off the grill right on to the table where we shredded up the meat.

Classic. I remember seeing this somewhere recently, but couldn’t place it. Your sig line was my answer. @insta
Nice work Dennis.

Dennis that is awesome. From WCWN one of the moderators does an annual pig roast.

Here is the link to the thread: Our 20th annual pig roast

And to the pictures: 150926 | BHIA 20th Pig Roast | Flickr

Mods if this is out of line to link to another wine website please delete.

Thanks!

Thanks, Sean! Will check this out.

Dennis - If you are going to do this a semi-often, You might consider a La Caja China or similar brand. They can be moved into place, and wheeled away when done (Wife points!). We did a 55LB’er a few weeks ago, in about 5 hours, and it was a hit… ask your buddy Hardy

Did you inject? Were you able to get the skin crispy?

Thanks, Joe! I toyed with the idea of the La Caja. The pit is a fixture now, not sure it leaves before we do (which might be soon!) Cool you got my old buddy Hardy on some pig roast.
We did inject and rub with Memphis dust. Parts of the skin got nice and crispy, some of the mid-section did not get to the point I would have liked in terms of cripsness. Next time.
Cheers!

Peter Cargasacchi is the king of backyard (front yard, side yard, vineyard yard) pig roasts - I couldn’t believe how he put that together for BerserkerFest, holy crap.

Looking good Dennis… +1 for La Caja China, although I have not done one in a while.